Intolerance and Suspicion

Essential Question: How do attitudes towards immigrants, blacks, and other minorities reflect the intolerance of the decade? How does the nostalgia and attitudes from the past conflict with modern ideas of the decade?

Immigrants, blacks, and other minorities are targeted because of the intolerance of the decade. They are targeted by the Ku Klux Klan and restricted by the government's immigration restriction practices. The Scopes Trial is a very good example of the clash between the past and the present because it was the conflict over the old idea of biblical creationism and the new science-based theory of evolution.

Vocabulary

immigrant-a person who comes to live permanently in a foreign countryanarchist-a person who promotes disorder or excites revolt against any established rule, law, or customcommunism-a theory or system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a dictator and a single political partyrace-major divisions of humankind which have distinct physical characteristicsBolsheviks-a member of the Russian Communist partyfundamentalism-strict and literal interpretations of ancient and basic doctrines of various religionsevolution-gradual development of something from a simple form to a complex one, including that of the human racequota- a limited or fixed number of people or things that can be admitted

Key Concepts-

What caused immigration restriction? How was immigration restricted? How strong was Nativism?

What was the KKK? What did the Ku Klux Klan stand for? How did they show the intolerance of the decade?

What were the Red Scare and the Palmer Raids? How does this fear add to the intolerance of the decade? How was the "Red Scare" an example of America's reluctance to be involved in world affairs?

What was the Sacco and and Vanzetti Trial? Why was this an example of suspicion and intolerance?

Why is the Scopes Trial indicative of the conflict of old and new in the 1920's?

Immigration Restriction and Nativism

Immigration was restricted because people feared that foreign cultures would take over if too many people from one place came to the United States. Unions thought that jobs would be taken by immigrants that were willing to work for less. Additionally, people knew only of radicals from other countries and viewed everyone from that country as being radical. In order to restrict immigration, different laws were passed. The Quota Act of 1921 allowed that the amount of immigrants from any one country had to be less than three percent of the population of immigrants from that country that were already living in the United States. Three years later, in the Immigration Act of 1924, this was lowered to two percent from any country and essentially banned immigration from Asian countries. Nativism was strong. People were afraid of the impact that immigrants might have. They could steal jobs or take money from the United States to send elsewhere.

The Ku Klux Klan

Before the 1920s the Ku Klux Klan was a white supremacist group that mostly targeted former slaves, but after World War I, encouraged by the nation's feelings of nativism, they broadened their range of targets to include Roman Catholics, Jews, and Asians. Membership in the KKK was very high, with around 3 million members by 1920, and it was very well organized. It even contributed to politics, helping different candidates win seats. Unfortunately, this brought more power to the KKK, which continued ruthlessly attacking and intimidating people because of their intolerance.

The Red Scare and the Palmer Raids

In 1917, the Bolsheviks seized control of the Russian government after the Russian Revolution and set up a communist system of government. Americans began to fear that the United States would become a communist state as well. Violent strikes, like the Seattle Shipyard Strike in 1919, only heightened the already prevalent fears. Afterwards, all strikers, whether they were violent or not, were seen as supporting communism. Some citizens became obsessed with punishing strikers, known as reds. Many thousands of communists and socialists were arrested and put in jail, and not all of them did something worth being arrested. These were the Palmer Raids. The Red Scare continued for some time before eventually dying out.

The Sacco and Vanzetti Trial

In 1920 a Massachusetts paymaster was robbed and killed. The police then set up a trap to catch the perpetrators, but two Italian men named Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti stumbled into the trap and were arrested instead. There was no evidence to tie them to the crime, but the judge openly discriminated against them because they held Italian anarchist beliefs. They were found guilty and executed.

The Scopes Trial

The Scopes Trial concerned the teaching of evolution and creationism in schools. Many southern states were passing laws that made the teaching of evolution illegal. In 1925, the Butler Law was passed in Tennessee, also forbidding teaching evolution in schools illegal. John Thomas Scopes purposefully incriminated himself as having taught evolution against the Butler Law so that the case could have a defendant. Darrow, the defense attorney, asked that the court might declare Scopes guilty so that the case could be appealed for. Scopes was fined $100, but the case was never appealed. William Jennings Bryan died, and a year later the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the verdict on a technicality. The fine should have been set by the jury, not the judge. This was not overturned on the grounds of constitutionality that Darrow had hoped.

Summary

The 1920's was a time of major intolerance and suspicion of other groups of people. Groups like the KKK highlighted issues that, while newly-emerging, were not new. Most of the inhabitants of the United States were consumed with xenophobia regarding other groups or their ideologies, and suspicion abounded regarding such things as the Red Scare.

What caused immigration restriction? How was immigration restricted? How strong was Nativism? Immigration restriction occurred due to the fears of the existing population of the United States. It was restricted primarily through two acts, the Quota Act of 1921 and the Immigration Act of 1924. Nativism was a very strong factor influencing immigration restriction.

What was the KKK? What did the Ku Klux Klan stand for? How did they show the intolerance of the decade? The KKK was the Ku Klux Klan. It was a group of people that targeted blacks, Asians, Roman Catholics, and Jews, or basically anyone that wasn't white and protestant with a decent education, which shows the intolerance of the decade.

What were the Red Scare and the Palmer Raids? How does this fear add to the intolerance of the decade? How was the "Red Scare" an example of America's reluctance to be involved in world affairs? The Red Scare was the fear of communism that spread. Because of the Red Scare, people wouldn't tolerate even peaceable communists and socialists. It shows that America did not want ideas like communism spreading from the Soviet Union.

What was the Sacco and Vanzetti Trial? Why was this an example of suspicion and intolerance? The Sacco and Vanzetti Trial was the trial and wrong execution of two Italian men. Though there was no evidence against them, they were convicted partially because of their Italian anarchist beliefs.

Why is the Scopes Trial indicative of the conflict of old and new in the 1920s? It shows the clash between the traditional biblical belief and the new science of the times.